The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-29
Mysterious PATAGONIA.
an Unexplored and Almost Unknown
Land.

an TTnexplOr00 ana Almost UpknOwu
Land.
p.,ntn Arenas CPdtago,sia) Letter IN San Fran.
cisco Chronicle.
stern. wild, and inhospitable are the
shores of Patagonia and the adjacent island
~ TERRA del Fuego. There have been few
explorers who have penetrated into their
unknown interiors, and the general knowl-
odoe of these countries is necessarily con-
aned and of no reliable value In the mid
Ale of summer the climate is cold, the winds
utterly cold, andlsnow squalls frequent, so
That the dark and long winters can be moro
easily imagined than described.
In these inhospitable regions wander no.
madic tribes, which manage to subsist on
goat flesh and fish, bread being next to nm
est. There is ageneral impression that the
Patagonian is a giant. meyer saw one over
five feet ten inches in height, and most of
them were much shorter and on the average
stunted. deficiencies lhave muscular de-
veopment. equal to the males, and it is
sometimes difficult to distinguish between
the sexes, owing to the masculine appear
ance of the gentler sex, the women in most
eases sporting an incipient moustache and
heard, which on the male never grows very
luxuriahtly.
Both sexes dress alike. Bleak and cold as
the climate is at best of times, the usual
dress consists of the skin of some wild ami
NAL loosely wrapped around the body Lit
tie children can be seen running naked over
the snow, their well-oiled brown skin appa,
rently impervious to the biting winds.
Those savages wandering to the Chilian set
Element of Punta Arenas SANDY Point
have often been presented with various ar
ticles of clothing, but as rule the aborigi-
ne discards shirts and trousers upon the first
opportunity. The Valparaiso sewing cir
cfes industriously continue contributing
boxfuls of clothing, but it is mystery
what becomes OF the garments. Most likely
there are secondhand dealers who barter
rum for the "duds."
their Temporary dwellings consist of the
branches Of trees interviewer so as to form
q basket-work defense against the weather.
Skins, old sails and blankets also give shell
ter which seems to content the tenants who
are VIGOROUSLY Indifferent to the comforts
or discomforts of home. Fish, of course,
forms the staple food, and it is thought that
few inhabitants are in the interior, most
living near the sea for the sake of its food
and the wTeckage which occasionally strews
the coast.
Many Horn bound vessels which have
never been heard of have doubtless been
lost on the Patagonian and Fuegan coasts,
and nearly every native has some trophy
cast up by the sea on their iron shores
There is story of crew having succeeded
in getting ashore from a stranded vessel and
being murdered by the savages, with the
exception of the Captains wife, who is said
to be still alive in the interior, dragging out
a miserable existence as the wife of some
dusky chief
Steamers passing through the Straits of
Magellan are often met by the canoes of
Indians, with women padding, who eagerly
look for ships bread or any other article
thrown them. noticed one set of Indians
had handsome ships boat, said to have be-
longed to some foundered vessel.
The Patagonians are just one step re-
moved from Cannibals, but their neighbors
the Fuegans-are said to enjoy human
flesh, and indulge in dreadful orgies over
any prisoners or shipwrecked sailors who fall
into their hands The Terre del Fuegans
represent the lowest type of humanity on
the globe. They have no deity, no moral
code, not one custom or habit which can be
called intelligent. OF large stature, some
imposingly so, they are perfectly british in
their instincts, without any redeeming at
tributes which belong to the brute creation.
On this terrible mass of barbarism the
Church of England Missionary Society has
tried to make some impression. The mis-
sionary, Mr.. Bridge, has devoted his whole
life to try and organize some kind of order
among them. They have been taught to
grow cereals and build houses, and two of
the natives were taken to London, but the /
good work only extends for short distance
beyond the mission settlement.
TERRA del Fuego, from Magellan to Cape
Horn, is sea of mountains. Wild animals
are rare and the onlybirds are the albatross,
the sea gull, and the Cape pigeon. Half the
missing vessels reported which have to go
around the Horn are supposed to be lost on
this barren island and nobody ever lives to
tell the tale
Crossing over to Patagonia, we have Punta
Arenas, more generally known as Sandy
Point, CHILEAN penal settlement and coal
ing station Among the milder tempered
and more intelligent Patagonians life in this
little town, though lonely, is not without its
attractions The main street boasts of some
substantial houses; there is a fort, Govern
or's residence convict barracks and re-
spectacle custom house and jetty. The In
habitants about 500 are mixed population
of Scotch, Gillian, English and natives.
Most of the English-spealling part of the
settlement represent different houses in the
fur trade The Governor is polite and hos
pitable and is always anxious to anluse the
casual visitor to the best OF his ability.
collection of rare skins, feathers and ostrich
eggs meets the eye in every house.
The convict establishment Is well con-
Quoted and the prisoners have great deal OF
liberty. Here every nationality under the
sun is represented, most of the foreigners
undergoing their sentences for embezzle-
ment or fraud The Chilians punish the
above offenses very severely-a ten-year
sentence being considered light. The even
ings are passed in singing and dancing
TO the music Of the ubiquitous guitar.
Fear the town are coal mines which pro-
duce tolerably good fuel, but all minerals
in this large country are waiting for capital
and hardy workers who can defy hardship
and brave dangers. Patagonia is essential
ly mineral country On the eastern coast
the Argentine Republic encourages miners
with liberal concessions and valuable priv,
leges, the result being the extraction OF gold
in considerable quantities by rude means
aud primitive methods. In this country
there is virgin soil to work on, and IN TINS
respect it should offer better inducements
than the abandoned mines of Peru and
Bolivia, in which countries every nauVe Is
miner by instinct and experience.
The Chihan government, ever liberal III
encouraging capital and immlgratlon,
would welcome and aid any enterprise
which would tend to the opening up OF mys-
FERROUS Patagonia. The interior OF the
country consists of tabelands, with several
ranges of hills trending in Northwesterly
direction Innumerable lakes and streams